A Christmas Miracle

*** PHOTOS TEMPORARILY REMOVED ***

Announcing Elsa

She is 4 months old, and from southern Ethiopia – a small town called Aleta Wendo in the Sidama region.

She is 10 lbs, 13 ounces and 23.2 inches tall. (Very small for U.S. growth charts but quite normal on the Ethiopian charts). The int'l adoption pediatrician checked out her info and told me tonight that she looks like an “excellent baby”. Woo hoo! (I already knew that of course.)

Elsa is a name that I’ve always loved (although it sounds Scandahoovian, it is also Ethiopian). Burke is my mother’s maiden name and my sister’s middle name and (very soon!) my daughter's middle name.

I got the call telling me about her this afternoon, although her information arrived at my adoption agency on Christmas Day (Merry Christmas to ME!).

I was getting ready to leave the house to drive mom to the airport shuttle – we were almost out the door when the phone rang. Mom sat down when I gestured wildly to her that this was THE CALL.

So…. what comes next?

I don’t get to go to Ethiopia just yet, I’m afraid. First, the attorney in Addis Ababa (the Ethiopian capital) goes to court on my behalf to formalize the adoption – I’ll let you know my court date, but it will likely be in late January or early February.

Then I wait my turn to get the all-important embassy date, at which I must appear with her at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. That will likely be in late Feb or (more likely) early March. This date will determine when I will travel to go get Elsa!

Please keep Elsa in your prayers so that she stays healthy and happy, and that the court date is successful so that I can officially become her mother.

From cloud nine and feeling like I won the lottery,

P.

p.s. Did you SEE the dimples?!?!?!?

!!

It's official

Do you know this image means? It is very happy news!


















This is the tracking page from the DHL website, showing the journey that my dossier took on its way to the Toukoul orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It arrived on August 13th, so I am now *officially* waiting for my referral. Should be about 6 months (yikes!) before I hear anything, so it's going to be hard to just WAIT.

So exciting!!

Adoption Update

I can hardly believe I'm typing this: My dossier is done!

I have put that giant pile of documents in a big FedEx box (too big for an envelope!), and have sent it off to my agency. (As a reminder, the "dossier" is all the paperwork and evidence of preparation and qualification that I've been compiling since last summer. It is kind of like a giant pre-approved application to adopt.)

Next step - it gets sent out for translation into Amharic (takes a few weeks, I think) then dispatched to Ethiopia.

Once it is officially delivered to the orphanage in Addis Ababa, I will officially be just Waiting!! (and should have my kiddo about about six months later...)

I've also updated my adoption timeline - it's current as of today!!

India and Lulu playing

sort of!

Chico day 2

It's much cooler today in Chico. The seminar is still quite interesting and I am truly enjoying the folks I am meeting here, feeling even more interested in localization.

I visited the little memorial to Oma and took a video (see below.) Sadly, there was some graffiti on it. I think I will email the Burke ladies and see if people want to pitch in, each about $25 or $50, to donate to Chico State and tell them we'd like that gift designated to clean up the memorial. Not only will that achieve the immediate goal of getting it cleaned up, it will also communicate to the university that Oma's family still cares very much and is engaged.



I met a nice lady named Deb, who is just finishing chemo for breast cancer and came all the way out here from Boston. Pretty brave to show up to this thing not knowing anyone here with most of her hair gone wearing a bandana. She was so lovely to chat with. She showed me photos of her dog online and I showed her the paintings on my web site and she definitely is now going to commission me to do a portrait for her. Funny that the first business opportunity from this localization seminar has nothing to do with software at all!

chico, language, hot hot hot

I'm in Chico, which brings back so many (sort of fuzzy) memories, taking a class that culminates in certification as a Localization Project Manager, which is a nice specialization to add to my pretty solid generalist software / infrastructure experience. The folks in this course have flown in from Singapore, Germany, and Argentina... and I thought my drive up from Berkeley was a drag. The teachers so far have been really great - so nice to be actually interested in class here in a place where I wasn't very interested before.

There are a couple of things that I am attracted to about this specialization: the international aspect (interesting input about different cultures, potential for fun travel) and the language aspect. Like my sister (and father and mother and so on...) I am a big language nut. Porter calls it being a "word geek."

This area near my hotel was all just rocks and dirt when I last lived here, but is now full of condos and shops and businesses. Wild.

And could it be hotter? Well, I suppose it could be humid, like, say Austin! I do not love the heat, so maybe that's another data point about moving.

local girl does good

The Marin paper published this full-page spread on an up-and-coming recording artist from Marin named Amber Dante.

She's Pastor Veronica's daughter! Very cool.

(Veronica Goines is the Pastor of my church, St. Andrew in Marin City.)

Good news!

Welcome to the Merrifamilia my new furry kiddo, Lulu! She's a rescue black lab, still very much in puppy mode at 11 months, but highly sweet and responsive and loves to learn. I've entered the new world where chew toys are like oxygen. She loves people, other dogs, the water, and BIRDS. Any kind of bird is worth pursuing in Lulu's world.

One of the best perks is all the walking I'm getting with her.

Here she is (in video below) at our wonderful local dog park, Point Isabel (her ears look a bit funny due to the wind in her face, but she normally looks very labby):

Good article on the front page of the NY Times today

On Ethiopian adoptions.

Check it out here.

adoption timeline

By popular request (and also for ease of communication for me!), I'm posting my adoption timeline, so y'all can see where I am in the process, and what's left to do...
I will update as I have news. Enjoy!!

** Status as of 07/26/07: Stages I - IV complete!! **

Stage I: Sign Up with Adoption Agency and Home Study Agency {done!!}

A. Research the 7 U.S. adoption agencies authorized by Ethiopian gov’t [done!]

B. Select Dove Adoptions International, based in Oregon [done!]

C. Apply to Dove, pay application fee [done!]

D. Received acceptance package and contract from Dove, submit contract and first installment
of adoption fee [done!]

E. Research licensed adoption agencies to do Home Study (must be a licensed agency in my home state - CA) [done!]

F. Select Adopt International, in San Francisco [done!]

G. Submit application to Adopt International, pay application and Home Study fees [done!]

H. Ask four friends to write letters of recommendation [done!]


Stage II: Get Permission from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) to Adopt Foreign Orphan {done!}

A. Fill out USCIS Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) [done!]

B. Submit the following to USCIS in San Francisco:

1. Completed I-600A [done!]
2. Completed Form DOJ-361 (Certification of Identity) (notarized) [done!]
3. Check for I-600A Application fee [done!]
4. Check for “Biometric fee” (for fingerprints) [done!]
5. Copy of my passport (for proof of Citizenship) [done!]
6. Health insurance verification (proving that the child will be covered by my health insurance as soon as he/she gets here) [done!]
7. Completed Home Study [done!]
   

C. Receive letter from USCIS giving me an appointment to have my fingerprints taken. [done!]

D. Have fingerprints taken for FBI for clearance. [done!]

E. Receive form I-171H from USCIS (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Petition of Orphan Petition) - this means I’m approved to adopt! [done!]


Stage III: Home Study (concurrent with Stage II) [done!]

A. Receive intro package and instructions from Adopt International [done!]

B. Get assigned to licensed Social Worker who will write the Home Study; call Social Worker to introduce myself. [done!]

C. Make appointment to get fingerprinted for California Department of Justice clearance [done!]

D. Make appointment with doctor for medical [done!]

E. Get full medical exam, TB test, HIV test, Typhoid, initial Hep A and B inoculations; get doctor’s signature notarized on four copies of health letter (for Ethiopian gov’t – to be part of my Dossier) and four copies of medical form (required for Home Study) [done!]

F. First meeting and interview with Social Worker (at her office in Sebastopol). [done!]

G. Gather and submit to Adopt Int'l (home study agency) the following documentation:

1. Application Form for International Adoption Home Study [done!]
2. Personal History Form [done!]
3. Fee Agreement International Adoption Home Study [done!]
4. Names/contact info for 4 people to recommend me - Adopt Int’l sends recommendation forms for them to fill out. [done!]
5. Recent photo [done!]
6. Release of Information forms (notarized) [done!]
7. Criminal Record Clearance statement from City of San Rafael [done!]
8. Agreement for Int'l Home Study Services [done!]
9. Certification of Pre-Adoption Preparation [done!]
10. Employment Verification (letter from employer) (notarized) [done!]
11. Medical Report (on form provided by Adopt Int’l) (notarized) [done!]
12. TB Test results [done!]
13. Copy of 2006 and 2005 tax returns [done!]
14. Copy of recent bank statements [done!]
15. Other financial documentation (net worth statement) [done!]
16. Copy of Birth certificate (notarized) [done!]

H. Have fingerprints taken for DOJ clearance. [done!]

I. Confirm with Adopt Int’l that DOJ clearance was received. [done!]

J. Complete the following courses for fulfill Adoption Education requirement:

1. Adoptive Parent Prep Seminar [done!]
2. "Let's Talk About Adoption" [done!]
3. "With Eyes Wide Open" (focus on int’l adoptions) [done!]
4. "Conspicuous Families" (focus on transracial adoptions) [done!]
5. "True Colors" (full-day workshop on transracial adoption) [done!]

K. Second (final) meeting and interview with Social Worker (at my home). [done!]

L. Review draft Home Study provided by Social Worker, make comments/corrections, send back to Social Worker. [done!]

M. Social worker finalizes Home Study, sends to Adopt Int'l. [done!]

N. Adopt International informs me that Home study is officially complete!! [done!]

O. Get five copies of Home Study (one for USCIS, four for dossier) [done!]


Stage IV: Dossier Preparation [done!]

My dossier must include three copies of each of the following:

1. Letter to Ethiopian Government (introducing myself, explaining why I want to adopt from Ethiopia, and committing to providing my child with awareness or his/her cultural heritage) (notarized) [done!]
2. Letter to the Board of Directors of Toukoul Orphanage in Addis Ababa (notarized) [done!]
3. Family Registration Form (notarized) [done!]
4. Financial Information (net worth statement) (notarized) [done!]
5. Letter from my Bank (notarized) [done!]
6. Criminal Clearance Letter from City of San Rafael (notarized) [done!]
7. Three Letters of Reference (different from the forms submitted for my Home Study) (notarized) [done!]
8. Employer Letter (notarized) [done!]
9. Medical Letter (with TB and HIV test results) (notarized) [done!]
10. Birth Certificate (state-certified) [done!]
11. Completed Home Study (notarized) [done!]
12. Copy of Adopt Int'l Agency License (with "true copy" statement) (notarized) [done!]
13. “Obligation of Home Study Agency” form signed by Adopt International (notarized) [done!]
14. Copy of the deed to my house (with "true copy" statement) (notarized) [done!]
15. Power of Attorney – for attorney to represent me in court in Addis Ababa (notarized and apostilled by the State of Calif.) [done!]
16. Form I-171-H (this form is sent to me from the USCIS) (with "true copy" statement, notarized and apostilled by the State of Calif.) [done!]
17. Passport Photos [done!]
18. Family Pictures [done!]

Stage V: Dossier Processing And Submission

A. Dove sends Dossier to Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC to be authenticated and translated into Amharic (a few weeks)

B. Ethiopian embassy sends Dossier back to Dove

C. Dove sends Dossier to Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA)

D. MOWA approves Dossier

E. Dossier submitted to the Board of Directors of Toukol Orphanage in Addis Ababa


{the wait is approx. 4 - 6 months from submission of Dossier to Referral of child}


Stage VI: A Child Is "Referred" To Me

A. Toukol Orphanage board meets (behind closed doors) to identify a child for me, based on the information in my dossier, and their knowledge of the children at the orphanage.

B. Child’s “Referral” papers (including photo and medical information) are sent to Dove

C. Dove contacts me with referral information (Yay!!)

D. Submit child’s information to be reviewed by Pediatrician experienced in international adoption

within a week (but probably immediately)…

E. I accept the referral (or reject, if there is some good reason, and wait for another referral – this is extraordinarily rare)


Stage VII: Adoption Is Formalized In Ethiopia

A. Attorney in Addis Ababa prepares documents for court on my behalf

B. Paperwork filed in court

{about one week}

C. Court date assigned

{several weeks}

D. Court date (Attorney in Addis Ababa appears on my behalf.)

E. Court issues adoption decree – (adoption is now final under Ethiopian law)

{several weeks}

F. MOWA issues permission for me to travel to Ethiopia

G. Embassy appointment date is set (Once I know this date, I can plan my travel to Ethiopia!)

H. Adoption decree translated into English

I. New birth certificate is issued for child (with my last name)


{wait is approx. 4 - 6 weeks}


Stage VIII: I Go To Ethiopia To Get My Child!!

A. Fly to Addis Ababa

B. Stay in guesthouse at Toukol in Addis or at hotel

C. Meet child!

D. Apply for Ethiopian passport for child

E. Get medical and 2nd HIV test (required by US)

F. Go to US Embassy; apply for Visa for child

G. Fly home!


Stage IX: Home Sweet Home

A. At airport – provide child's passport, Visa, and sealed documentation (given to me by U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa) to USCIS agent

B. Get child’s passport stamped

C. File for re-adoption in California

D. Apply for SSN for child

E. Engage Adopt International to create “post-placement” reports

F. File post-placement reports with Ethiopian government – four (4) total

nice little video about Point Richmond

overheard

This seemed very Berkeley to me. Overheard at lunch at a little Chinese food place on Telegraph Avenue:

"I don't know why they would send the sarcophagus to her."

Austin Fine Arts Festival entry - April 15, 2007

Austin Fine Arts Festival entry - April 15, 2007
Originally uploaded by pamplemousse2007.

Had a great time today at the Austin Fine Arts Festival - click on this photo to see a few more. The weather could not have been more perfect.

There are also some photos in this set of homes in neighborhoods I looked at with a realtor yesterday. Sara Warner (the realtor) was such a perfect tour guide and I feel really lucky I was referred to her. She had a stellar sense of humor. I asked her what kind of dog she had (after she confessed to being 'obsessed' with her dog) and she said "Texas Black Dog, you know, all black with a little white spot on the chest." And sure enough, when we stopped for tacos later on, there was another Texas Black dog there too.

Molds, conquered!

Tejas is pretty groovy so far. The weather has been wacky - hot and muggy and then suddenly the loudest thunderstorms I've ever heard (even in Lassen County it wasn't that loud!) This photo is not mine - see here for source.

I was feeling super run down all week and mentioned it to an Austin office mate. She suggested I get these drops to put under the tongue that help in a homeopathic way with allergies to molds. I tried them last night and already am feeling a million times better. Thank god I ran into her.

I also loved the Hilltoppers meeting I went to last night. Such nice people, very cute guys (not that this should sway me) and in the right age bracket for moi.

I'll have more info later today after I view some houses with the realtor gal. Should be groovy.

Front door of new "Domain" Convio office building

Front door of new "Domain" Convio office building
Originally uploaded by pamplemousse2007.

Got to visit the offices that the Austin folks will be moving into later this month - much is still under construction for us, but you can see what a fun space it's going to be.

It's dangerously close to some great shopping at a brand new luxury mall called "the Domain."

Click on this photo to go to Flickr for a few more photos from today.

spring in Austin!

April is a truly lovely time to be in Austin. There was a little rain the first night I arrived (Monday) but all clear now and not humid, hurrah!

Checked out the local favorite, Magnolia Cafe on South Congress for dinner Monday night. It was just as funky and comfortable as Mama's Royal Cafe in Mill Valley, and great variety of people, albeit all anglo. I had this amazing and delicious acorn squash crusted with spiced pecan mix served with zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli and spinach in a killer curry sauce. Man, was that good!!

I drove around the Bouldin neighborhood, which was extremely appealing, older with big trees, bungalows, funkiness. Someone I met that night referred to it as "the people's republic of Bouldin" which echoes Berkeley a great deal.

The folks at the Austin office couldn't be more welcoming too. It'll be great to be here for the two weeks to really figure things out!

The wildflowers are out! There is a wonderful legacy of Lady Bird Johnson's efforts to beautify Texas highways popping up joyfully in every direction.

Something that might tickle Nicole or Porter - my hotel is DIRECTLY across from the hugest Sheplers store I have ever seen. The hotel had another good omen - when I walked up to the front door, I noticed a hawk circling just overhead and calling out beautifully. Maybe he likes the pigeons that are hanging out in the parking lot?

Cat paintings

april-cat-6
Originally uploaded by pamplemousse2007.

Saturday I did more of these 6" x 6" cat paintings. It's fun to not be working on commission and just go crazy, not worry about whether it's a perfect representation of a particular cat.

Click on this one painting to see more of the series.

Super smiley India

Super smiley India
Originally uploaded by pamplemousse2007.

Got to borrow Porter's wonderful (UBER wonderful) dog, India, to take a vigorous walkies on Sunday. It could not have been more beautiful weather and we loved the views. (India actually does seem to check out the view, which cracks me up.)

help with photos

How do you get a photo into your profile? I am trying one now for this posting. It only has a space for an url.... hmmmmmm?

Time to hear from Jville mom better known as ma MA

This is my first attempt at a blog.

Today was a "typical" spring day, starting out cold and damp and then warming up to high 50's this afternoon. I drove with Cora, my artist friend, 45 minutes out to a fellow artist's home in Shady Cove to our monthly Valley Girls' critique session. Cora and her husband are planning a move to Oahu soon. She is paring down her household items to a very few... each pound she ships is $2.00. It is a great exercise to go around your home and ask yourself, "Would I pay $2.00 a pound to move this?"

This afternoon I went through all my old paintings to see which ones I might resurrect with collages. This is the assignment for tomorrow's class. I thought of Cora as I was doing that and took a whole bunch of them to the recycle bin, they are beyond resurrecting and I no longer see a need to keep them. It was fun to see how far I had come from my first painting attempts. Spring is a great time to clear out and throw out "stuff". I seem to want to go through this every year when it gets warm enough to open the windows and doors and let the fresh air in.

vegas, baby!!

OK - my first post here... writing under the "nom de plume" of OhTall1, but it's just me, E.P.M.

OK... so what's up w/me?

I just got back from a 3 day conference in Las Vegas, which is definitely not somewhere I would choose to spend time.

Cons: Way too much cigarette smoke, lots or required/recommended schmoozing, and the whole showgirls / sequins / Elvis / neon zeitgeist.

Pros: Meeting more people who I work with, a very fun Pecha Kucha night, and the keynote speech by one Mr. Bill Clinton.

That's right, William Jefferson Clinton was the keynote speaker at this conference. He was smart, funny, engaging, and just really likeable. I have to say, I was a bit star-struck.

cube wall creativity

here is a funny little set up of things at the top edge of a co-workers cube wall

plastic slug, twinkie, frog toy

Austin trip, day 2

Sunday was as gorgeous as it gets and several locals reassured me that this is, indeed, the best time of year for weather in Austin. I figured out how to escape the whole crazy freeway system and drove around the University of Texas and then down along Duncan Park on North Lamar Blvd, where I saw lots of people out and about, dogs romping in the creek that ran parallel to me as I neared Town Lake. Dogs offleash enjoying a creek! It's a miracle!

I passed a huge REI and Whole Foods and then crossed a bridge to South Austin, where I had read that the 'weird Austin' lives strong.

There were lots of people out in kayaks and canoes on the lake having what looked like a purely delightful time.

South Austin looked like a lively, colorful mix of Chico (little bungalows) and South of Market (artistan things, funky restaurants) and Todos Santos (the color, the Mexican influence). I visited a strip of funky fabulous stores on South Congress and had a lovely lunch. I was hoping to buy some boots at Allen's, but the prices were serious, so I decided to wait until a later date. But the boots were divine. I think I may have drooled when I saw a tan pair with amazing pink detailing. I just couldn't justify $400 for them, despite their charms.

I think my favorite store was "parts & labour", which stocks things made by local artisans - handbags, melted LP bowls, jewelry. I like supporting that kind of enterprise. I fell in love with and acquired a vinyl messenger-style bag with a funny robot on it, but had to leave behind the purse with an authentic Dodge "Swinger" emblem on it. Sigh. The artisan who made my bag is Milinde Lawless.

Drove back up through downtown and saw what I found out later is the very recently imploded Intel building. (As in, they set off the explosives this morning!)

Got totally frustrated trying to navigate back to my hotel. I think the freeway up in North Austin should get a D minus on usability.

I had my lovely leftover ribs for a dinner with the Oscars, although I had to wait for them to thaw. Somehow my little refrig in the hotel room was jacked up high and froze everything. After waiting an hour or two and eating cold ribs and beans, I then of course discovered that all along there had been a microwave cleverly hidden in the cabinet above the refrigerator. Doh!

Austin trip

Update from this week's trek to check out Austin, Texas (where my new company is headquartered): There was a massive swirl of reddish brown clouds over the Dallas-Fort Worth airport today, where I was supposed to land around 1 pm and then transfer on to Austin. It looked like the sky had spent a summer at Silver Lake and picked up that fine volcanic dust all over. I was reading Kinky Friedman's " The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic: A "Walk" in Austin " which had me chuckling to myself. We circled DFW for about 1/2 hour but then my flight became just one of 400 that were canceled in and out of DFW today and we headed over to land in Houston.

It was muggy and hot, but the people were gracious and lovely. On the advice of the friendly locals, instead of sitting there for 6 hours waiting for a flight to DFW and then another flight to Austin, I grabbed my Hertz rental car at the Houston Airport (instead of Austin) and headed to Austin by car, which folks told me would be about a two and half hour drive. Houston has some seriously funky circle roads but I did find the highway heading west at long last.

The country-side looked a lot like California's central valley, although I saw more guns shops than I see at home and there was no friendly fringe of mountain range anywhere in the distance.


My favorite road sign was just a little green road sign with an arrow and the name of the town, to help one turn right to get to "Dime Box." As I got closer to Austin, I started getting some stellar radio stations. I loved KUT (University of Texas), which was playing some fantastic old rhythm and blues music. Made me feel like I was in a movie, driving the big open Texas road and having a blue-sy funky day. Sadly, I then got lost as I got into town and shot right out of Austin southwards toward San Antonio, but not before I got to see the lovely capital dome glowing in the night.

They have some very weird freeway methodology around here. You can exit the freeway but you can only then (seemingly) enter a side road going the same way as you were going on that freeway, so if you pass some place you want to visit, god help you. It made me nearly scream.

But I am finally here at the elegant La Quinta Mopac North, next to the glamorous IBM Building in the Austin neighborhood that most resembles Silicon Valley. I've ordered some BBQ ribs to be delivered to my room and that should help take the edge off the whole getting lost freak out. I had this image of Austin being much smaller and never imagined these crazy freeways going every which way. Hopefully I'll find some nice walkable spots tomorrow.

They just delivered my baby back ribs dinner from County Line and it's like HALF A PIG! Seriously, no one could eat eighteen ribs for dinner, could they??? Dear Lord, I might be in Tejas.

(20 minutes later)
By the way, I almost ate that whole half a pig. I can now understand how the feeding frenzy based on the massive deliciousness could just take one over.
If only I was here with a buddy, here's where I'd go tomorrow - Stubb's for their "Gospel Brunch!" I've never heard those two words go together but it's bee yoo tiful.